Fragments Of Bones
by xfirefly9x
Summary: Brennan, Booth, Hodgins, Angela, Zach, Cam. A collection of ficlets based on the characters from Bones. Various characters and pairings.
1. Death Of A Child

**Death of a Child**

Prompt: #002 Toys

Notes: Written for 30angsts

Brennan sifted absently through the selection of toys and other personal items that had arrived with their latest victim. The victim was another child of ten years old, who had been reported weeks earlier as missing. His body had only just been found earlier in the day and sent to the Jeffersonian for her to look over.

Picking up a stuffed bear, Brennan found her mind wandering off to the injustice of it all. The boy had barely lived his life and it was already over. He hadn't even entered into his teens, for Christ's sake! It was completely and utterly unfair.

One thing Brennan was certain of: children made her job harder.

"Tempe?" the sound of Angela's voice startled Brennan back to reality. She glanced up from the teddy bear to meet her friends' eyes and then slowly looked back down. Her knuckles were white from clenching the toy so hard and she realised she was shaking slightly.

"It's just…" she began to explain, "this boy. He's so…young." She searched Angela's face for understanding and lifted the toy in the air to emphasise.

Angela gave her a sympathetic look and moved over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know, hon. I know it's hard." She paused for a moment while Brennan composed herself as well as she could. "Why don't you take a break for awhile?" she suggested.

Brennan shook her head decisively. "No, I'm fine. I've got to work." Without so much as a second glance in Angela's direction, she forced herself to focus on the details of the case, pushing the images of the boy out of her mind.


	2. Destroy

**Destroy**

Prompt: #001 Destroy

Notes: Written for ficlets100

"You'll destroy her, Booth," Angela stated informatively. "She's worked so hard to get where she is and if you do anything, and I mean anything, to compromise that, she'll break. If you hurt her…you'll have me to answer to!"

She glared at the FBI agent, hoping that her serious demeanour would get under his skin and convince him to do what was right. Which in this case, was to tell Brennan the truth. He needed to let her know exactly what was on his mind. Soon.

Sighing in frustration, Booth offered Angela an equally intense glare. "Fine! I'll tell her!"


	3. Dealing

**Dealing**

Prompt: #002 Cry

Notes: Written for ficlets100

Temperance Brennan never cried. It was an irrational process that she could find no meaning to and she just couldn't see the point.

Sure, she was subject to human emotion, but she preferred to deal with it in her own way. In the case of pain, her way was not to cry. She'd bury the hurt and the frustration as far down as she could and would focus instead on her work and academic pursuits.

It was much more productive and meaningful.

She couldn't recall a single time she'd cried. She didn't care to remember, either. That was her way.


	4. Truly Broken

**Truly Broken**

Prompt: #000 Angst

Notes: Written for nercabeyul

Her mother was dead and her father was missing. She wasn't whom she had thought she was and everything she had known was falling down around her feet. She had no way to put the pieces back together and she didn't know how to fix it.

She was, for the first time since she had lost her parents and her brother, truly broken.

Normally, admitting that she couldn't cope and that she didn't know what to do was not something that she did. Now, though, she couldn't help it. Everything she had been had been altered, changed forevermore, since the moment she had found out the truth.

Everything had changed, yet somehow, it had all remained the same.

Falling into the arms of her partner, she clung on as if her life depended on it. In that moment, it felt as if it did. She didn't care that she was letting him see how vulnerable she could be, how vulnerable she _was_. She didn't care about anything but feeling warm.

She hadn't felt warm since before she had found out.

Nestling her head into his shoulder, she let the tears come, crying the silent tears of someone who had lost more than anyone ever should. The warm arms that encircled her as she let out her pain told her that she was safe now and in that moment, she felt like everything would finally be okay.


	5. Skin

**_Skin_**

_This could have gone differently_, you tell yourself. _It didn't have to go down this way._

Deep down, you know it's not true.

Fate.

Destiny.

Love.

It's those things that speak the truth.

You look at your reflection in the old mirror overlooking the worn bed of the hotel room you've booked into. An unrecognisable face stares back.

You're not this person. You don't do these sorts of things.

This isn't you.

Your eyes drift to the naked form of your partner, still asleep and entangled in the bed sheets. Memories of touching, of skin on skin, flitter through your mind. Pleasure. Pain.

The sweet combination of the two had played at your senses until you could take no more.

You allowed yourself to break the silent promise you both made that things would not go this far. You had sworn you would not lose yourselves in one another.

_This shouldn't have happened…_

As hard as you've resisted it, you've always known it was bound to happen eventually.

…_Not this way._


	6. Silent Tears

**_Silent Tears_**

Her mother was dead and her father was missing. She wasn't whom she had thought she was and everything she had known was falling down around her feet. She had no way to put the pieces back together and she didn't know how to fix it.

She was, for the first time since she had lost her parents and her brother, truly broken.

Normally, admitting that she couldn't cope and that she didn't know what to do was not something that she did. Now, though, she couldn't help it. Everything she had been had changed forever, since the moment she had found out the truth.

Everything had changed, yet somehow, it had all remained the same.

Falling into the arms of her partner, she clung on as if her life depended on it. In that moment, it felt as if it did. She didn't care that she was letting him see how vulnerable she could be. She didn't care about anything but feeling warm.

She hadn't felt warm since before she had found out.

She nestled her head into his shoulder, let the tears come. She cried the silent tears of someone who had lost more than anyone ever should.

The warm arms that encircled her as she let out her pain told her that she was safe now and for that moment, she felt like everything would finally be okay.


	7. Trust Issues

**_Trust Issues_**

"Do you trust me, Booth?" she asks, fixing him with a questioning stare. She runs a hand through her hair.

Booth glances up, quirks an eyebrow. His lips curl into a crooked smile. "Yeah, Bones. Of course. I thought you knew that. I trust you with my life."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I do," Booth confirms. "Why? What brought this on?"

She shrugs a little too carelessly and he knows instantly that something is up.

He frowns.

"Bones?"

"I...uh...well, it's this counseling thing. I guess I'm reading too much into it."

"I thought you didn't believe in psychology."

"I don't, but Dr Sweet's brought up a few interesting points about us. Our relationship."

"Yeah." Booth scratches his head, just above his left ear. "Interesting points."

"It's probably nothing," she brushes it off. "I was just thinking."

"Yeah, it's probably nothing," Booth nods. "I do trust you though. I trust you more than anyone else. I'm here for you if you need it, you're here for me. Remember that, okay?"

She smiles. "I am here for you," she agrees. "And thank you."

"For what?"

She studies him closely, her smile widening. "Just thank you."


	8. Promise Me

**_Promise Me_**

"Promise me, Bones," Booth begs. "Promise me you'll be okay, that you won't let any of this come between us. Promise me you won't give up."

Brennan sets calculative eyes on him. Frowns. Slowly, shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Booth. I...I just can't. I can't forget this. I can't forget what you did. It's too horrible."

"But can you ever forgive me? All I've ever wanted to do is protect you. That's what I was trying to do."

"That's all he ever wanted to do and you killed him! You killed him because you couldn't stand the idea of him being around me. You're the one who said I should try to forgive him and when I did, it was too much for you. I can't. I can't come back from that. We can't."

"I was trying to protect you from him."

Brennan stares at him for ten long seconds. She stands and tightens her grip on the telephone, her one connection to Booth through the glass that separates them.

"Well, congratulations," she says. "He won't be around to 'bother' me anymore. And neither will you." She hangs up and heads for the door.


	9. A Light In The Darkness

**_A Light In The Darkness_**

"Hey, Booth," she greets him as she pulls up a chair and sits across from him. She smiles. Her eyes sparkle. Must be done with the case, he decides.

He flicks his eyes up to meet her and can immediately feel the effect she has on him. It's like his insides are melting and he's almost prepared to believe that no evil will walk the earth ever again. Almost.

She is a light in the darkness and she never loses. Well, okay, there were times she hadn't quite come out 'victorious'. She always got back up though. The point was she never gives up fighting for what's right. She's unmoving in her beliefs.

"Bones," he murmurs back, still staring into her eyes.

She looks at him strangely, quirks an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?" she asks. "You seem… different."

He mentally shakes himself from his thoughts and reaches across the table to take her hand in his. He squeezes it gently, rubs the pad of his thumb over her skin.

"I'm great," he tells her. "Perfect, in fact."

"Right." Disbelief.

He tears his eyes from hers, releases her hand and taps a finger on the tabletop. "You hungry?" he asks in an attempt to divert her attention.

"Hunger is usually the reason one goes to a diner," she replies with a slight smile.

"Right. Of course." He gestures to a waiter. "How about we order then?"

She narrows her eyes at him and studies him as if he's lost his mind.

"What?"


	10. Sitting On The Fence

**_Sitting On The Fence_**

"Still sitting on the fence there?"

"Hmm?"

"You haven't decided what to get yet?"

"Oh, uh... no. Not quite. There are so many things to choose from."

Booth grins and watches Brennan pour over the menu in front of her. He clasps his hands together, puts his elbows on the table and rests his chin on his still joined hands.

"I think I'll go with the pasta," Brennan finally settles on. She smiles, satisfied with her decision.

"Same as me, huh?" Booth grins. He reaches over, takes her menu from her and hands it, along with his, to a passing waitress.

"The same as you," she confirms.

"Nice."

"Yes."

Another waitress takes their order and they talk until their meals arrive, some twenty minutes later. By the time they've finished eating, they've fallen into comfortable silence.

"So. Aren't you glad I tore you away from the lab?" Booth says.

Her eyes flicker up to meet his. A soft smile forms on his face.

"Yes. Yes, I am glad."

"Good," he nods. "That's good."

As they leave the restaurant, she turns to him. "We should do this again. Next week?"

He smirks. "Only if you don't take half an hour to decide what to order."


	11. Steam Rising

**A/N: This piece contains ADULT THEMES!**

**_Steam Rising_**

The steam coming form under the door of Brennan's bathroom torments him. It's warm – thick and warm – and it sends his imagination on overdrive.

Despite his best attempts to stop them, snatches of images flash through his mind.

Brennan. Water. Steam. Bubbles. Soap.

Brennan with water pouring down her bare back.

Steam rising above her.

Soap bubbles lining her shoulders and the nape of her neck and lower, lower, lower.

Her skin, wet with moisture.

Her hair, damp and slick.

Her lips.

He is so caught up in his fantasy for want of a better word that he doesn't notice the water turn off.

When the door knob finally turns and the door opens, he almost stumbles into her.

"Booth? What are you doing?" She looks at him in mild amusement.

He straightens up, readjusts his shirt and pretends he wasn't just listening to her shower, that he wasn't just daydreaming about her and indulging himself in the type of thoughts that if she knew about she'd probably hit him for.

"Nothing," he says, his voice husky. "Nothing at all."


	12. Those Times

**_Those Times_**

"I...I'm sorry, Bones. I couldn't save her. She just...slipped," Booth says, avoiding eye contact. He fiddles nervously with his hands. Clears his throat. Forces his hands to be still.

Brennan stares at him. Blinks. Her eyes fill with tears that she refuses to let fall, though crying is the natural thing to be doing in her current situation. She just sits.

"I know you were close," Booth adds quietly. "I can't imagine how you're feeling. If you need to talk..."

Clamping her eyes shut, Brennan takes a moment to compose herself. She waits until the moisture in her eyes feels less and then slowly opens them again, wiping them dry with the back of her hand.

Using the armrest of her chair for support, she stands. "I wasn't that close," she very nearly whispers. Her tone suggests denial, false bravado. "We only just met last week."

Booth reaches over to squeeze her hand. "I know you just met, but sometimes it's easy to get attached to someone in a short amount of time. And it's never easy facing death. It's okay to care."

"I know," Brennan nods, "and I do care. It's just..."

"Too much, too quickly?"

"Something like that. Yeah."

"Well," Booth murmurs after a moment. "Be grateful the time you knew her. Hold onto those times. Don't let it overwhelm." He watches as Brennan nods again. "You'll be okay?"

"I will," Brennan confirms. She offers him a watery smile. "And will you? It wasn't your fault she...fell."

Booth swallows as the guilt rises once again in his throat. He shrugs. "Yeah, Bones. I will be too. One day."


	13. Practiced And Elaborate

_(Hodgins/Angela)_

**_Practiced And Elaborate_**

"I won't let anything happen to you."

He rubbed soothing circles across her back, looked deep into her chocolate brown eyes.

One hand paused for a moment and then abruptly returned to tracing its patterns, practiced and elaborate, over her lower back.

She squeezed his other hand in hers where it was sandwiched between their bodies. Smiled.

He closed the distance between them and their lips brushed. His eyes fluttered closed as she deepened the kiss.

They reluctantly pulled away.

She released his hand, stroked the soft curls hanging over his forehead.

She smiled some more, teasingly.

"Where's the fun in that?"


	14. Toilet Training

**_Toilet Training_**

"You're a pain sometimes, you know that?" Booth says. He fixes her with a calculating stare.

Brennan stares back and flatly responds. "What? What did I do?"

He lifts an eyebrow. "It's what you didn't do."

"And that would be?"

"You didn't put the toilet seat down," he continues, stumbling over the last of his words. He stops there, shakes his head and turns to glare at Sweets who is watching them, his eyes alight with childish glee.

"You know what?" Booth tells him. "This role-playing thing is really not working out for me. It's a waste of time!"

"Booth!"

"Hey, now. Bones? I thought you agreed!"

"Usually I would agree – we agree on a lot of things – but this has gone too far. You have a problem Booth and if we're going to keep living together…"

"Fine. I'll try to remember to put the seat down," he says with an exasperated sigh, "from now on."

"Try?" Sweets interjects.

"I _will_ put the seat down," he corrects. "Happy?"

He watches Brennan as her expression brightens and she grins at him. "Happy," she confirms.

Retrieving his keys from his pocket, he nods towards the door and stands. Brennan follows him out and they fall into step beside each other as Sweets stutters useless protests that their session isn't over.

"Are we okay?" he asks.

Brennan's lips brushing against his own before she slips into the car is enough answer.

_fin._


	15. All Tangled Up

**_All Tangled Up_**

"Bones?"

"Mmmm?"

"Dinner. You, me, Chinese. How about it?"

She glances up and fixes him with a contemplative look. Her lip juts out just so and her eyes narrow at him in a way that makes his insides twitch uncomfortably.

"You know I have a lot of work to do," she answers simply before turning her attention back to said work.

He scowls softly at the top of her head but doesn't give up. "C'mon, Bones! Leave the evil of paperwork behind for awhile, join me. You have to eat sometime." He offers his best wounded puppy dog expression when her eyes flicker quickly over him once more.

She frowns at him. More twitching ensues.

"Staying at work," he goes on, waving his hands in the air. "That's no way to live."

"Hmmm?"

"Tangled up in your work, I mean. You can't hide behind it forever." He taps a finger on his nose and gives a quick nod, almost poking himself in the eye in the process. He drops his hand to his side immediately and a thought occurs to him. Why not make the offer more appealing to her?

"I'll pay," he adds with a shrug.

Her lips curl at the corners but don't quite form a smile. She doesn't make any sign that she's ready to drop everything and go with him.

"We can get dessert as well." His voice is light, teasing and hopeful. Particularly hopeful.

Silence.

"Bones?"

"Fine," she finally accepts, feigning frustration. "But I can only spare an hour."

He is unprepared for the force of the grin that suddenly takes claim of his face and is surprised when she returns the smile with her own and begins to pack up what she can't leave out. "An hour is great."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three and a half hours later, she's laughing at one of his more pathetic attempts at a joke and has long forgotten about the work she left back at the lab.

_fin._


	16. Call Him

_**Call Him**_

The phone rings.

Once. Twice. Three times. Four.

Her heart pounds heavily with each shrill squeal.

Five times. Six times. Seven-

"Are you going to pick that up, sweetie?" Angela asks her with a gentle smile.

She shakes her head fiercely and clenches her jaw. No. She's not. Nothing will make her pick up the damn phone and answer it. Not after what he did. Not after what she's gone through because of it.

"Brennan? Tempe?"

Again she moves her head from side to side though this time more slowly. "No, Ange. I can't talk to him. Not now."

"Can't or won't?" Her tone is condescending but undeniably caring.

She frowns. "Does it matter?"

Angela offers her best look that suggests it does.

"Forget that. Why do you care?"

"I'm your friend, Brennan. That's what friends' are for. You're going to pick up the phone and talk to him and you're going to yell and scream and sort things out."

"But I don't want to yell and scream and –

The phone stops ringing.

"Yes you do."

"What makes you say that?"

Angela gives her a look that tells her that it should be obvious. Still, she stands with her question.

"Ange. Tell me."

"You two are meant to be together, Brennan. I knew it since the first day I saw you in the same room. You're soul mates. I know you don't believe in that sort of thing but it's true. You're two halves of a whole."

She sighs heavily and shakes her head. "I don't know, Ange," she admits.

"Call him back."

"But I –"

"You won't know unless you call him."

"I," she starts again. "I...fine. I'll call him."

Angela beams and hurriedly retrieves and passes her the phone. "Go. Talk. And Brennan?"

"Yeah?"

"Give him a chance to explain. Things might not be as clear as they seem to you."

She considers her friend for a moment before nodding slowly. "Okay." She turns to leave. At the last moment she pauses and glances back over her shoulder. "Thank you, Ange."

"Any time. Now go! Call him."

She allows a small smile onto her face and nods. "That's the plan."

_fin._


	17. A Lot of Betrayal

_A/N: Brennan/Booth_

_**A Lot of Betrayal**_

"You betrayed me, Bones! That there was a lot of betrayal!" There's a hint of hurt in his eyes as he looks at her. He puts his hands on his hips. His belt buckle shines bright in the sunlight.

She opens her mouth to speak – her stance suggests she's about to defend her actions – but he cuts her off with the wave of his index finger in the air. "Don't even say it. You can't take back what you did."

"Booth! How was I suppose to know-"

"You should have asked."

"Would that not have given away our position?" she glares at him.

"Better than that being stabbed in the back by the person who's supposed to be protecting it!"

A bird flies past them; the flapping of its wings is loud. Another bird follows it and they disappear from sight, trees and plant matter hiding them from view. The wind howls.

"Booth," she tries. "I understand you're a man. It's in your nature to desire the alpha dog position." Slender fingers come to rest on his arm. "It's just a game."

He pulls back and her hand falls from his shirt. "I really wanted to win. I was so close! We. I mean we were so close."

"And next time we'll whip Hodgins and Angela's asses," she says firmly. "Metaphorically of course."

"Of course," he smirks.

Her eyes glimmer. "Are we good?"

"Yeah Bones. We're good.. Though I think you need to make this losing up to me. "Dinner?"

She glances back at the Jeffersonian and then looks at him. "How about we go for lunch first?"

"That works too." He links their arms and they set off towards his car.

"You're the one who's paying this time."

_fin._


	18. Stop Talking

**Stop Talking**

"Do you really want to do this?"

She nods.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

A small frown makes its way to her face and she scowls at him.

He waits.

She reaches for his arm and pulls him closer to her, by the wrist.

"Are you sure?" he repeats.

An impatient glare.

"I mean, it'll be the death of what we have. Our relationship. Before, well, you know." He shrugs sheepishly. "It'll all be different."

"It sounds like maybe I should be asking you if you're sure."

He waves one hand in front of his face. "No, no. I'm sure. I want this." He looks into her eyes; his lips form a smile. "I definitely want this."

She returns the smile. "Good. Stop talking then and kiss me." Her eyes glint.

His widen. "Right. Yeah. Of course."

Her lips crash to his and he can't form another word.

_fin. _


	19. Sunrises She Won't Watch

_(Brennan/Booth)_

_**Sunrises She Won't Watch**_

The sun rises and Brennan watches it, numb. Despite the sunshine, it is cold. She wraps her arms around her middle and wonders what Booth is doing.

He's so far away from her now. A different country. It's weird to think about how much their lives have changed and how they have grown apart. It's weird to think that just when she was ready to begin a relationship with him, it turned out he wasn't, that he had moved on.

He left her behind for his new life.

And now, here she is, soaking in the rays of winter sun, and yet shivering on the inside and out.

She misses him. She wishes he was by her side, to watch the sun rise beyond the mountains and into the big, blue sky.

But that's never going to happen. Not any more.

She left it too late.

She lost him.

The rest of her days will consist of sunrises she won't watch with Booth.

_fin._


End file.
